The first Saturday, I nearly tripped over a loose porch step. Callum appeared instantly with a screwdriver in hand. “How long has this actually been like this?”
“Couple of years now.”
He stared at me. “You’ve genuinely been walking on this thing?”
“I enjoy a little danger.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
A month later, he called me Mom entirely by accident. “Mom, have you seen my charger anywhere?” We both froze completely. Callum turned bright red. “Kitchen counter,” I said quickly. “Right.” Neither one of us mentioned it out loud. But he kept right on saying it regardless, over and over, in the weeks that followed. By the time the adoption was finally finalized, I’d genuinely stopped waiting for him to eventually become somebody else entirely.
Chapter 2 – What the Meatloaf Couldn’t HideThen, exactly two weeks later, Callum came to dinner and barely touched his own meatloaf. That scared me considerably more than it probably should have. He genuinely loved meatloaf.
